ferment

[fur-ment, fer-ment]

noun

1. Also called organized ferment. any of a group of living organisms, as yeasts, molds, and certain bacteria, that cause fermentation.

2. Also called unorganized ferment. an enzyme.

3. fermentation.

4. agitation; unrest; excitement; commotion; tumult.

   The new painters worked in a creative ferment.

   The capital lived in a political ferment.

verb (used with object)

1. to act upon as a ferment.

2. to cause to undergo fermentation.

3. to inflame; foment.

   to ferment prejudiced crowds to riot.

4. to cause agitation or excitement in.

   Reading fermented his active imagination.

verb (used without object)

1. to be fermented; undergo fermentation.

2. to seethe with agitation or excitement.

ferment

noun

1. any agent or substance, such as a bacterium, mould, yeast, or enzyme, that causes fermentation

2. another word for fermentation

3. commotion; unrest

verb

1. to undergo or cause to undergo fermentation

2. to stir up or seethe with excitement

Other Word Forms

• fermentable adjective
• fermentability noun
• nonfermentability noun
• nonfermentable adjective
• nonfermented adjective
• nonfermenting adjective
• unfermentable adjective
• unfermented adjective
• unfermenting adjective
• well-fermented adjective
• fermenter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferment¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin fermentum “yeast” (noun), fermentāre “to cause to rise” (verb), equivalent to fer(vēre) “to boil” + -mentum -ment ( def. ); fervent

Word History and Origins

Origin of ferment¹

C15: from Latin fermentum yeast, from fervēre to seethe

Example Sentences

Many people turn to fermented drinks like kombucha which promises to boost the microbiome and, by extension, the immune system.

Read more on BBC

By dint of pandemic pauses and far-flung locales around the U.K.’s Cotswolds and on the Welsh Borders, the lineup managed to quietly ferment and realize some of that long-ago unknown magical mystery.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

On reaching the outskirts of the capital, Patna, the team found a ramshackle setup of a dozen metal drums - part of a makeshift apparatus fermenting jaggery, a type of cane sugar, into country liquor.

Read more on BBC

Sauerkraut, long known for its supporting role as a hot dog topping, is taking the spotlight as nutritionists tout the health benefits of fermented foods.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

An increasing number of nutrition scientists and food companies want us to eat more fermented foods—such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut and…Gut Nuts?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• commotion 
• disquiet 
• excitement 
• frenzy 
• restlessness 
• tumult 
• turbulence 
• unrest 
• upheaval 
• uproar